M1. Reflect and Connect

The life of Sephardim began in biblical times, when Jews were exiled to the Iberian Peninsula. When the Jews first arrived, they were under Roman control and were generally tolerated. Life in the Iberian Peninsula started out pleasantly. Starting in the fifth century, when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, things started to go downhill, not only for the Jews, but for everyone living in that area. The economy declined and the empire became very disorderly. But because of the conversion, Jews were no longer treated well.
In 409, Spain was overrun by three German tribes. A few years later, another German tribe, the Visigoths, took over. The Visigoths practiced a different type of Christianity than the Romans did. Luckily, for the Jews, the new rulers found that it would be beneficial to tolerate the Jews. They were, however, concerned about Jews owning slaves, as this commonly resulted in proselytism. The reason for this was because of the Jewish laws about slaves, which state that slaves must be treated with respect and courteousness. Along with this, the Visigoths never truly created a coherent rulership, therefore causing an increase in anti-Jewish laws. The people under the Visigoths' rule were not united religiously, and in an attempt to remedy this, in 587, the king, King Reccared I, converted to Catholicism. Life for the Jews had taken a terrible turn, as active persecutions began. In 613, a decree was made that all Jews must convert, or face severe punishment, resulting in disaster for the Jews. A cycle began to form: after a particularly anti-Jewish king was dethroned, Jews who had fled to nearby countries would return and live in less severe conditions, until another persecutory king took over. By 680, conditions for the Jews were so bad that they staged a revolt, which ended up failing, causing even harsher measures to be applied to them.
A conspiracy within the Visigothic kingdom arose, weakening its rulership, and beginning in 711, Berbers easily conquered Spain. Within a few decades, Muslims were able to conquer the Persian Empire and a considerable part of Byzantium. This event prompted a large Jewish immigration to Adalusia. Under Islamic rule, the Jews were tolerated, but lived their lives under the conditions Muslims had set for them.

We see that there were a few types of Muslims going around, trying to conquer more land and get it under Islamic control, just like today. There are still Muslims attempting to conquer yet more land around the world so that it is under Islamic rule.

Here is a link to my timeline.